Attendance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈtɛn.dəns/

Definitions

1. The act of being present at an event or gathering, or the number of people who show up
2. The action of appearing at a particular event or location, as well as the count of individuals who attend it
3. The act of going to or being present at a specific event or place ; the total count of individuals who are present at that event or place

Etymology: The noun "attendance" arrived in English from Old French, where "atendance" meant the act of waiting upon someone or giving care and service. Its root is the Old French verb "atendre," meaning "to attend" or "to listen," which in turn traces back to Latin "attendere," literally "to stretch toward" (from "ad," toward, and "tendere," to stretch). The original image is of a person leaning or reaching toward something in order to pay heed to it. That physical idea of stretching toward something explains the word's path. A servant who attended a lord was, in effect, directing their attention toward him, ready to serve. Attention and presence were closely bound together, so being present in a place where one was expected came to be described by the same word. Over time, "attendance" settled into its modern sense of simply being there: taking roll in a school, counting the crowd at a match, or recording who turned up to a meeting.

Synonyms: presence, participation, turnout, engagement, appearance

Antonyms: absence, nonattendance, disengagement, lack, vacancy